 |
| Fossils from our yard in Texas |
When we moved into a new development in Texas, the land had been an unplowed prairie, it's commercial use having been a pasture for cattle. It was covered with beautiful wildflowers, and once we built our home and I gardened, finding fossils was common. We know our planet has gone through changes. The question is, are more changes coming?
I love the farm on which I was raised. I enjoyed reading the books I checked out from the library, but if the weather allowed, I was probably outside. The pasture south of the house had never been plowed, and it was a favorite destination. My favorite spot was an old buffalo wallow, where buffalo had once rolled around to scratch insect bites or in the spring to rid themselves of their thick winter coats. The buffalo were gone, but they left behind their history for a little girl. It was also where the sandhill plum thickets made hiding places and left memories of the jelly my ancestors made, jelly my mother and I continued to make. Between the house and the pasture were trees to climb, planted by my great-grandmother and her son. Many of these reminders no longer remain for younger generations, to remind them of how generations have changed our planet.
My father did not irrigate, but I was certainly aware of the need for rain. In our farming community, we have been struggling over water resources for decades. I was the 4th generation to live in our house. After college, my husband and I lived in large cities, but in retirement, we came back to the farm. Things had changed. Many farmers irrigated. Machenry was much bigger and more expensive, and they farmed far more land. My father's Farmall M and the acreage he farmed to support a family was a thing of the past.
Of course, the fossils I found in our yard in Texas were deposited there far longer than the years of my lifetime, but we cannot be blind to the changes on our planet. Since about the time my great grandparents came to Kansas to homestead, the average global temperature on earth has increased by at least 1.9 Fahrenheit. However, since 1982 the rate of warming is increasing 3 times as fast, and 2023 was the warmest year since keeping global records began in 1850, that is, it was the widest until 2024 increasing was even faster.
Is there something we should be doing? Is there anything we can do? As this three-part series about storms and other weather issues comes to an end, I thought it might be of interest to you to see the results of research done by the Pew Research in 2023, testing how Americans feel about the research on Global Warming. It is provided for two reasons--as an opportunity for you to reflect on these issues, and as an opportunity to see how other Americans feel.
1. A majority of Americans support prioritizing the development of renewable energy sources.
2. Americans are reluctant to phase out fossil fuels altogether, but younger adults are more open to it.
3. Views are more mixed on how the federal government should approach activities to reduce carbon emissions.
4. Americans see room for corporations and the federal government to do more to address the impacts of climate change.
5. There is a division between Political Parties.
6. Climate change is a lower priority for Americans than other national issues.
7. Perceptions of local climate impacts vary as to whether they believe climate change is a serious problem.
Unfortunately, age, wealth, politics, education, personal impact, and many other things divide decision making, so taking action will be challenging. However, one thing is certain. Decisions must be made by people who know what they are doing, not by grandiose orders given for publicity.
